ConocoPhillips quits Russia with sale of Polar Lights oil stake

ConocoPhillips exited the Russian oil sector with the sale of its stake in a field that was one of the first foreign energy investments after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

The Houston-based company had been searching for a buyer for its 50 percent share of the Polar Lights field in northwestern Russia for 18 months as output slumped and international sanctions made it harder for U.S. companies to operate in Russia. The company sold its stake to Trisonnery Asset, Kris Sava, a Conoco-Phillips spokesman, said Wednesday in an email.

ConocoPhillips was among the first Western oil explorers to invest in post-Soviet Russia when it acquired its Polar Lights stake in 1992.

The sale is the final crumb from a Russian empire that once included a 20 percent shareholding in Russia's Lukoil. The company sold the last of its Lukoil shares in 2011 for $9.5 billion, as a Russian venture with Lukoil proved disappointing.

ConocoPhillips' share of Polar Lights production was the equivalent of about 4,000 barrels a day in 2014. ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance has slashed capital spending to focus on shale drilling in the U.S. and less risky projects in places such as Malaysia.

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